Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s administration outlines Chicago’s rules for outdoor dining, office capacity under next phase of city’s COVID-19 reopening

Restaurants will face some of the toughest new restrictions during staged reopening during the COVID-19 pandemic, with dining in relegated only to areas deemed outdoors, including spots where large doors or windows can be pulled open with tables set inside near the openings. Commissioner Rosa Escareno of the Department of Business Affairs and Consumer Protection urged restaurateurs to apply for the city’s existing sidewalk cafe permits. For many of the city’s thousands of restaurants, qualifying for a permit to host patio seating will be the only way to legally serve dine-in customers under the new rules. The city is working on a temporary, more streamlined process to ensure restaurants have the proper permits they need to operate outdoors under phase three of the reopening.